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“How dare you touch her?” James seethed, so full of fury that he felt a capacity for violence he had not known before. He’d brawled in the past, but this need to deliver justice? To hurt a man in vengeance? It was new.
“Your courtesan?” the man asked, bleary-eyed, struggling to get down out of James’ hold.
“My wife!” James snapped loudly. The man’s eyes widened. He tried harder to get free. “Here’s what happens to any man that dares to touch her.” James pulled back his arm and delivered one harsh blow. It smacked the man on the nose so firmly that the sound of bone crunching was audible in the air.
Some of the drunkards laughed, and others tutted.
“Michael!” James called, his voice booming. Michael must have already been on his way from the next room, having heard the commotion because he was there in seconds. “Escort the gentleman out. Offer him a handkerchief for his bleeding nose too. He won’t be welcome back here again. I will not have this place be unsafe for my wife.”
“Gladly.” Michael grabbed the man’s arm and hurled him to stand straight. The man bemoaned his broken nose, pressing his hand to it, but he didn’t fight to stay, nor did he offer an apology.
James turned, seeing the attention of the room upon him.
“Go back to your drinks.” At his order, all the men beckoned for more drinks, only too glad to laugh and point fingers at the man who was now being hauled out. As their focus shifted away, James sought out Marina.
She was standing close by, leaning against the wall, her breathing panting.
“James,” she whispered.
He couldn’t talk. Not here. He took her hand and drew her away from the room, reaching for the door that connected to the backrooms behind the hall. She hurried behind him, enabling him to close the door with a bang before he made his way to a flight of stairs.
“Where are we going?” she asked, struggling to keep up with him on the steps.
“Away from there,” he seethed, angered that she had come so close to being hurt.
There was one bedchamber in this entire building. James had ensured it was there in the early days of the gambling hall in case he ever wished to stay overnight. It had been some time since he had spent a night here, but the bed was always clean, just in case.
He hastened into this chamber now, finding it dark. He closed the door behind him, and Marina then reached for the mantelpiece where he hurried to light two candles from a tinder box. Flames jumped to life, revealing Marina’s face that was still pale.
“James,” she said again, her voice firmer this time. “It’s all right. All is well. I am not hurt.”
“You came too close tonight.” He placed the candles around the room before moving back toward her. He took her face in his hands, tilting her chin upward, checking for bruises.
“James, he didn’t even touch me – well, apart from the grasp to my wrist.” Her words calmed him a little but not enough. “He was drunk.”
“That does not make what he wanted to do all right.” He spoke quickly, loosening his hands from her and stepping back. “God’s wounds. I vow to keep you safe, and what happens? Under the roof of a building I own, you come into danger. This is mad, quite mad.”
“James, please.” She hurried around him, trying to find his gaze with her own. “I’m fine. I’m well. I am not harmed.” He nodded, trying to find comfort in this. All he found was anger and frustration that she had come so close to being hurt.
“I will not see you harmed.” His voice was deep as he stared at her, unblinking. He was so caught up in his fury, he didn’t think anything would calm him.
“I see you need a distraction.”
“No distraction would be enough.” He stepped away from her, flinging his arms down. “Maybe you can’t come here anymore.”
“What? No. You wished me to be familiar with the business.”
“Yet you are not safe here!” He waved a mad hand toward the door. “You’re not safe, and I will not see you harmed.” She hurried toward him. He was too busy in his tirade, so he did not register how close she came. “I’d sooner hurt all the men here than see you hurt yourself – Marina!”
She launched herself toward him. Stepping up onto a cushioned footstool between them, she practically jumped against him, her lips finding his own. He stumbled to catch her, not even waiting a beat before he returned that kiss.
There was sudden lust between them and great heat. All the anxiousness for her he put into that kiss so that his lips did not stop moving against hers, not for a single second.
With her legs around his hips, he moved the two of them together, down toward the bed, not wanting this to end. Maybe she was right… maybe this was the distraction he needed, to be with her. Here, at least, she was completely safe with him.
“Don’t stop,” she begged between kisses as he reached down and lifted the skirt of her gown, desiring to be closer to her. The burn was all encompassing tonight. To the extent he couldn’t control it. It made his hands jerky, reaching for her, frantic.
When he flipped her skirt over her hips, revealing her to him, her hands clutched at his arms, clinging to him. That tightening of her grasp nearly sent him wild.
